Nun Battling Katy Perry Over Convent Sale Dies In Court

Antoinette Montgomery |Monday, March 12, 2018

By Steffanie Tan

Sister Catherine Rose Holzman of the Archidiocese of Los Angeles - who has clashed with the pop star over the sale of a convent - passed away on Friday (03.09.18), after collapsing during a court hearing related to the dispute, CBS News reports.

The nuns instead sold the residence to local restaurant owner Dana Hollister, without the approval of their Archdiocese.

However, that sale was blocked by a judge in 2016, who claimed that the proposed deal was invalid, thereby leaving Katy with the opportunity to purchase the property.

Following Holzman's death, Archbishop Gomez - known to be at odds with the sisters in their desperate bid to prevent the sale of the property to the enormously-successful pop singer - stated that he was "sad to hear the news of her passing", and added that he had "offered a mass for the repose of her soul". In an interview hours before her death, the nun told Perry she is "hurting a lot of people".

At the time, the Los Angeles Timesreported that the singer had visited the nuns in an effort to ease their anxieties - discussing her tattoo of Jesus and singing them a hymn to demonstrate her respect for the religion.

The latter had refused to leave, so Perry and her team called the police officers to the premises. "She had nothing to do with forcing herself on us", says Holzman.

At one point, the nuns even tried to sell the place to Hollister for a mere $44,000 just so it wouldn't go to Perry.

Katy originally bought the historic pad for $19 million AUD back in 2015 direct from the archdiocese, but her plans to turn the religious building into a lavish home fell through, when the nuns sold it. They said the Vatican controls their convent and appealed the sale directly to Pope Francis.

The sisters said they previously spoke with Archbishop Jose Gomez, who agreed they could choose who would purchase the property, but they could not get a hold of him once they chose to move forward with Hollister, The Los Angeles Times previously reported.

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